Idols

16 Life, by AIKAWA Saki
Title: 16 Life
Author: AIKAWA Saki
ISBN# 4978-4-09-133226-4
Flower Comics, 2010
It’s time to venture back into the world of the Japanese entertainment industry as depicted in shoujo manga! I guess manga about idols are really popular, if publishers keep having authors churn out so many similar series. Here is AIKAWA Saki’s take on the idol world type of story. I have already talked about a few of this author’s works on here. I really like them, even though she has a habit of ...

Berry Dynamite, by NAKAHARA Aya
Title: Berry Dynamite
Author: NAKAHARA Aya
ISBN# 978-4-08-846456-5
Japan: Margaret Comics, 2009
I am a big fan of NAKAHARA Aya’s works. I have discussed a few of them here before. They are cute and fun, and she usually has an interesting twist to a situation, or she uses character types that I prefer. This is a series about idol singers, so that attracted me right away. When I first started reading this series, I went a little crazy because it was SO FAMILIAR. I ...

Hajime-chan ga Ichiban!, by WATANABE Taeko
Title: Hajime-chan ga Ichiban!
Author: WATANABE Taeko
ISBN# 4-09-133181-5
Flower Comics 1989
I picked up a few volumes of this series at the closing sale of a manga cafe. I wish I had picked up the whole series, because now I am stuck wanting to read more, and I can’t find more of the books. I am going to have to order it online from somewhere! This is a fun little series with really cute artwork that actually doesn’t look too dated, in ...

Idol Paradise, by ASAMI Miyabi Title:Idol Paradise
Author:ASAMI Miyabi
ISBN# 4-09-138567-2
Flower Comics, 2005
How could I possibly go for so long without another cross-dressing idol singer manga summary? ^__^ I love idol singer manga! Japan’s whole idol industry amazes me. In the shoujo manga world there are talent scouts everywhere, lurking where you least expect them, ready to discover hot new talent. Actually, believe it or not, this seems to be true of real-life Tokyo too. When I was there a few years ago, I was actually ...

Kaeru no Ousama, by NAGASAWA Satoru
Title: Kaeru no Ousama (King of Frogs)
Author: NAGASAWA Satoru
ISBN# 978-4-08-847363-9
Margaret Comics, 2001
I’m not entirely sure how long I’ve had this manga in my collection, but I’m kind of sad I haven’t talked about it until now because it’s very cute. This is an older one-shot manga from 2001. It’s divided into 2 stories that each take up about half of the book. The art style is very much in keeping with the time period this was published. It’s funny how, ...

Kaikan Phrase, by SHINJO Mayu Title:Kaikan Phrase
(Sensual Phrase)
Author:SHINJO Mayu
ISBN# 4-09-136835-2
Flower Comics, 1997
Woah, I can’t believe they actually made an anime series about this! I really can’t believe it! :) I guess with the fangirl-success of WeiB Kreuz, they figured another anime with a group of really cute bishounen guys who sing (well ok, in WeiB they were asassins, but they sing on the cds..) would be a success ^_^ And the guys in Kaikan Phrase are CUTE! It is just that this manga ...

Kanojo wa Uso wo Aishisugiteru, by AOKI Kotomi
Title: Kanojo wa Uso wo Aishisugiteru
Author: AOKI Kotomi
ISBN# 978-4-09-132667-6
Flower Comics 2009
This series initially caught my attention because both volumes 1 and 2 were released on the same day. For a new series, this seemed kind of unusual. I am still not sure what the story is behind the release schedule, but when faced with these 2 volumes with their interesting covers, I couldn’t help but pick them up :) This series is by the same author as the infamous sibling-incest-themed ...

Momoiro Heaven!, by YOSHINO Mari
Title: Momoiro Heaven!
Author: YOSHINO Mari
ISBN# 978-4-06-365475-2
KC Dessert Comics, 2007
You know, it’s kind of amazing how many shoujo and yaoi manga have plots that revolve around erotic novelists. Seriously, I think I have at least three summarized on this site already, and here is yet another! Ok, so the plot isn’t the most original, it manages to include many of the usual shoujo manga Plot Devices, but still… I can’t resist this. It’s cute! Um… all I can say is that ...

NG Boy x Paradise, by MIYAWAKI Yukino
Title: NG Boy x Paradise
Author: MIYAWAKI Yukino
ISBN# 978-4-592-18260-3
ChuChu Comics, 2006
Ahh, finally, NG Boy x Paradise! I am talking about this series today, not because it is all that amazing or wonderful (though it really is very cute) but because I am so happy to have finally finished it! You see, almost two years ago I bought a volume of this series at my local book store. I didn’t realize until I got home that the book I had bought was ...

Nousatsu Beat de Utawasete, by KIKUCHI Kamaro
Title: Nousatsu Beat de Utawasete
Author: KIKUCHI Kamaro
ISBN# 978-4-09-132160-2
Flower Comics, 2008
I bought this one because of the author and title. I really like this author’s previous work, in particular, her “Nosatsu Rock Shounen” series about a girl and her geeky boyfriend who is actually a hot rock star. I figured that with the title, “Nosatsu Beat de Utawasete” this may be a sequel or something. Well, it is related to “Nosatsu Rock Shounen” but it is not a direct sequel. I ...

Penguin Kakumei, by TSUKUBA Sakura
Title: Penguin Kakumei (Penguin Revolution)
Author: TSUKUBA Sakura
Japan ISBN# 4-592-18241-3
US ISBN# 978-1-40121130-1
Hana to Yume Comics, 2005
CMX Comics (USA), 2006
I know that this one has been licensed and available for a while now, but I only just this past weekend picked up a few volumes of it in Japanese. I enjoyed what I read so much that I ended up going back for more :) This is a cute shoujo series that spans at least 7 volumes. It has cute, simple artwork ...

Seiyuu ka-!, by MINAMI Maki
Title: Seiyuu ka-!
Author: MINAMI Maki
ISBN# 978-4-592-19061-5
Hana to Yume Comics, 2009
It was the winning combo of cute cover art and intriguing title that induced me to buy this volume. I like this art style, and I am always a fan of stories that are about the anime or manga industry. I like manga about manga, anime about making anime, and in this case, manga about making anime! This series is about seiyuu, or voice actors. It actually reminds me a lot ...

Shoujo Shounen, by YABUUCHI Yuu Title:Shoujo Shounen
(Girl Boy)
Author:YABUUCHI Yuu
ISBN: 4-09-149381-5
Kodansha Comics, 2000
I wasn’t expecting to find this at the store, before I spotted it on the shelf I didn’t even know it existed. But once I took a look at this volume I knew I had to get it :) This manga is by Yu YABUUCHI, the manga author of another favorite manga of mine, ‘Mizuiro Jidai’ (Aqua Age/Bluegreen Years). Yabuuchi-sensei’s art style is so incredibly cute! The characters in this look to be ...

Tenshi no Uta, by MAKIMURA Kumi Title:Tenshi no Uta
(Angel’s Song)
Author:MAKIMURA Kumi
ISBN# 4-09-341009-9
KC Dessert Comics, 1997
This manga was purchased on the recommendation of a friend of mine who had read the series in Chinese and said it was really good. I found the series in Japanese at the store and really liked the covers, so I decided to pick it up. My friend was right, it is a nifty story. It is sort of like a less-cheezy Kaikan Phrase, with more shoujo manga angst ...

Teppen!, by TSUKIMIYA An
Title: Teppen! (The Top!)
Author: TSUKIMIYA An
ISBN# 978-4-592-18565-9
Hana to Yume Comics, 2008
Ahh! Here we go again! It’s time for some more cross-dressing fun! And wouldn’t you know it? It involves idol singing once again! Yet another manga reinforcing my suspicion that all of Japan’s cute idol singers are really cross-dressers! As I am too poor to afford all of the monthly shoujo magazines to follow manga series as they are serialized, I am generally unaware of recent series until the first ...

Yume Chu!, by OOYA Kazumi Title:Yume Chu!
(Dream Kiss)
Author:OOYA Kazumi
ISBN# 4-09-136879-4
Flower Comics, 2000
Why have one cute guy in a series when you can have a WHOLE BUNCH of them? I like this thought! OOYA Kazumi draws some of the cutest manga guys I have seen. I am not exactly sure why I like them so much, but I can’t help it. Maybe it’s something about the eyes? I am not sure ^_^ I am amused by how OOYA Kazumi draws such good looking guys, ...

NOTE: I do NOT offer or link to manga downloads or scans on this site. PLEASE don't ask me where you can read this stuff online. Almost all of my summaries are based on actual books I buy and read in Japanese. I have no idea if any of this is online, and would encourage people to purchase the actual books.